Relevant link of today: Kroes champions interoperability in draft 'digital agenda'

In an article in Euractiv the draft digital agenda strategy document is discussed which is under preparation by Commissioner Kroes. Publication of the digital agenda has been announced for late April / early May.

The Euroactiv article also refers to the draft version of the digital agenda which leaked a couple of weeks ago and which contains some important and forward looking concepts (see also my blog post of late March):

"However, a draft version of the plan – revealed by specialist website PC INpact – places great emphasis on interoperability and the notion of open standards.
'The headline target for this action area is to reform the EU standardisation regime by 2015 to reflect the rise and growing importance of ICT standards developed by various fora and consortia, in particular as regards the Internet,' the Commission draft says.

"But while there is consensus that greater interoperability of ICT systems stimulates economic growth and makes digital solutions cheaper for small business, 'guidelines on open standards and interoperability have proved hard to define,' the Commission adds. [...] 

"Kroes wants to 'reform the governance system for ICT standards in Europe to recognise ICT fora and consortia standards'. She also recommends 'transparent disclosure rules for intellectual property rights (IPR) and licensing conditions in standard-setting' [...]"

Read the full article online on Euroactiv.

Relevant link of today: Microsoft Fails the Standards Test

In his blog entry from last week Alex Brown reviews the status of ooxml two years after it was accpted as an ISO standard.

"The second anniversary of the approval of ISO/IEC 29500 (aka OOXML) is upon us. The initial version of OOXML (Ecma 376 1st Edition) was rejected by ISO and IEC members in September 2007, and it was only after extensive revisions and a bitter standards war in the following months that a revised format was finally approved on April 2, 2008.

[...] Microsoft seems set for failure. In its pre-release form Office™ 2010 supports not the approved Strict variant of OOXML, but the very format the global community rejected in September 2007".

Read more: http://www.adjb.net/post/Microsoft-Fails-the-Standards-Test.aspx#ixzz0kKPrU6EH

Relevant link of today: Robert Madelin new Director-General for Digital Agenda

The news just came in, e.g. via EurActiv.com, that

"The most senior official in the European Commission's health directorate will take charge of the new 'Digital Agenda' portfolio as part of a shakeup of top-ranking Brussels bureaucrats. 

"The British-born official, who ranks among the most high-profile civil servants in Brussels, will answer to Neelie Kroes, the commissioner for the Digital Agenda."

Read, for instance, in EurActiv.com or in europeanvoice.com.

Relevant link of today: Open Source and Open Standards under Threat in Europe

Earlier this week Glyn Moody posted an article shedding some light on what is apparently currently going on behind closed doors about the European Interoperability Framework (EIF) and about the Digital Agenda under preparation by Commissioner Kroes and DG Information Society. Extensive lobbying seems to be done in order to change the basic direction of openness which the Commission has taken for years and which has given leadership to Europe and to the Commission in an age of transition to new, open ways of working and innovating.

I am still optimistic that the Commission will be resistant against any backwards-oriented lobbying and retain its clear and fresh view on information and communication technologies (ICT), standardisation, interoperability and openness:

1. Openness is the key paradigm of the time, it has produced new and highly productive ways of working and it is vital for fostering innovation; 
2. Market players of all kind are in a process of change to a new equilibrium of proprietary and openness adapting to the new paradigm for being successful and maintaining leadership on the global marketplace;
3. The European Commission and public authorities in Europe play a key role in driving this transformation and leveraging openness in all areas for the benefit of the European marketplace and the citizens of Europe.

Glyn Moody gives some important alert. Read his full article at computerworlduk online.

Document Freedom Day - let's celebrate and ask for more

Never was document freedom easier to get than today with the open document format (ODF) available for some years. It was originally developed as an open standard in OASIS where it is also continuously maintained in the respective technical committee. And it was submitted and approved as an ISO standard.

Tomorrow, March 31, is again "Document Freedom Day". It is clearly a day to celebrate. Document freedom is an idea, a concept that has got momentum. The open document format is essential for efficient automatic data processing since the data format is openly laid down; it supports competitiveness and choice since everyone can implement the standard and offer innovative competitive technologies on the level of the implementation; it thus prevents single vendor lock-in and prevents that people and citizens need to buy one specific software from a single vendor for reading, editing or crafting documents.

Document freedom is what is needed. Public authorities started to take this up. This is the right way to go forward and should be supported by all of us.

So join in and celebrate Document Freedom Day on March 13 and make this day a starting point for yet another successful year for open document formats and document freedom, promoting more take up of the ODF and progress on openness in this very relevant area.

Relevant link of today: Digital Commissioner Kroes proposes EU policy of open standards

In his blog post the member of the Trans-Atlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) organisation, David Hammerstein, allows some glimpses on a Commission draft document coming from DG Digital (Information Society) on the "Digital Agenda for Europe":

AN IMPORTANT POLICY PAPER, A Digital Agenda for Europe –
A policy for smart growth and innovation in a digital society, HAS BEEN LEAKED OF WHICH AN EXCERPT IS BELOW.  DIGITAL AGENDA COMMISSIONER KROES HAS PROPOSED A SERIOUS MOVE OF THE EU TOWARD OPEN STANDARDS AND INTEROPERABILITY.  THESE PROPOSALS ARE ALREADY BEING ATTACKED BY HER COLLEAGUES IN THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION WHO REPRESENT ENTERPRISE, COMMERCE AND INTERNAL MARKET.  NEVERTHELESS, THESE PROPOSALS DESERVE CONSUMER AND CITIZEN SUPPORT.

Read the full article with some more details on the document and direct quotes from it on David's page.

Eintracht beats Bayern

When your team wins against Bayern it is always worth mentioning. To begin with, I am not one of those notorious "haters" of Bayern. They are a great and astonishing team and, let's be honest, the only German team that is really capable of coping with the great teams in Europe. But they just don't need to win all the time...

So last Saturday they came to Frankfurt - the only true team in Germany !! - after being unbeaten for 19 matches. And they led until close to the end when Frankfurt managed to beat Bayern with two wonderful goals 2:1.

For Frankfurt it should be a very motivating win after loosing three matches in a row. Let's see. But winning against Bayern is worth a blog post. See also the article in the FAZ online about Eintracht's match-winners.